Enlightened Entitlement

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4 NKJV

On April 3 this year tornados skipped through outlying areas of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, damaging hundreds of homes. One of the twisters uprooted a swath barely over a mile from my house, and it was natural to think, “Wow, that was close.”

Really? It was more than close for the families from whose homes the storms bit chunks and then spit them from here to yonder. But these families were all strangers to me, and though I empathized with them, their loss did not affect me as if it were my own.

There is a single fault that more than any other presents a challenge to the good news that, in Jesus, God the Father has given believers power over all the power of the enemy; the marvelous truth that every good and perfect gift is from the Father of Lights and in Him is no shadow of turning; the incredible fact that Jesus never turned away the tormented by telling them God was using affliction to perfect them; the quiet assurance that He will never ever give a stone when we ask for bread. And this is it: That we sometimes neglect to proclaim the perfect love of God in humility and unity.

We don’t miss the mark intentionally. We simply get caught up in our own stuff. “I’m blessed.” “The Lord met my needs.” “The Lord called me to do this or that.” All very true, but it has a bit of a “tinny” ring to it, doesn’t it? (1 Corinthians 13:1) Perhaps it’s not quite a conversation that ministers grace to the hearer (Ephesians 4:29). I’m reminded from time to time of a quip I read once, “You’re unique….just like everybody else.” The Lord doesn’t love us any less if He loves others just as much.

We can take a lesson from the people of Oklahoma City, whose response to the horrific bombing of the Federal Building on a Wednesday morning in April 1995 became a lesson to the world on how a community can become one. Years later, I was in Oklahoma City on business when tornados ripped through Moore and other suburbs. I heard the FEMA and Red Cross workers talking over breakfast at the hotel about the wonderfully generous Oklahoma City people. I watched the queues of citizens bringing clothing and water and food until the stations were filled to overflowing. Let me tell you, the giving was contagious.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the world spoke of Christians as they did of Oklahoma City? Beloved, there’s little profit in you or I alone gaining heaven on earth – the real value, the real power, resides in our collective victory. It is as the oil flowing down Aaron’s beard (Psalm 133). Beautiful. Fragrant. Powerful.

Paul’s words to the church at Philippi are certainly contrary to today’s culture, aren’t they? The “Sixties” did a lot more damage to our nation than we understood at the time in my humble opinion: The “Me Generation” was born. But where sin abounds grace will much more abound (Romans 5:20). The Lord will have a “We Generation”. He has one already. They are everywhere among us, a true counter culture movement. Can you find them? Are you one of them?

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